Kemp vs. Hawes

I was at the Rip The Cut Tournament for several hours Saturday at Cleveland High School and watched the entire game between the Home Team — Brandon Roy, Jamal Crawford, Will Conroy and Spencer Hawes — and Old School — featuring Eldridge Recasner and Shawn Kemp. And yes, the 38-year-old Kemp was going 1-on-1 with the 20-year-old Hawes in a battle of Seattle-then against Seattle-now.

Kemp did not embarrass himself in 1 1/3 games Saturday. I say 1 1/3 because he showed up with seven minutes left in Old School’s first game, stepped onto the court and did a coast-to-coast score with a layin. Kemp can still dunk with ease, his hops have not declined that much, but it was obvious the Reign Man was trying to wow the crowd with no-look passes and a few reverse dunks. Sorry folks, there were no replays of his dunks on Alton Lister or Chris Gatling (Dunk No. 5). And by the way, in what world do you give dap to the dude who just dunked on you? Only to Shawn Kemp.

When Kemp hit the court Saturday, the guy guarding him whispered to himself “Damn, Shawn Kemp.” And he spent two minutes in awe. Now I am not saying Kemp could be an All-Star Again, but he could help an NBA team in limited minutes because he knows the game probably much more than in his physical heyday.

He definitely held his own against Hawes, who wasn’t exactly playing at maximum tilt. None of those NBA guys were playing as if it were the playoffs. They were just trying to entertain the fans, which they did. Conroy has crazy handles and plays with fire, even arguing vehemently with the official on a few calls.

Hawes was thrilled to play against Kemp. The two worked out together before the 2007 draft. “That’s the biggest (thrill) playing against a legend. Everyone has seen the video and that’s like the Reign Man, and especially with the Sonics leaving, it makes it a little bit extra (thrilling).”

Kemp and Hawes exchanged post moves and Hawes is in very good shape and had no problem getting to the basket. Kemp would probably need to lose 20 pounds to get into an NBA training camp, but this wasn’t like watching Ali against Holmes here. None of the overflow crowd was shaking their heads in disappointment watching him play. They were thrilled and it’s amazing how much talent Seattle has because there were some ballers out there today.

Saw Peyton Siva chatting with some of the NBA players but didn’t get a chance to watch him play. But the Seattle players definitely know who he is and were lauding him for his committment to Louisville.

Former UW standout Doug Wrenn showed up in street clothes and said he is likely to play Sunday, when the Home Team plays in the winner’s bracket game at noon. He just finished his season in Korea.